Vehicle manufacturers began to use electronic systems to control engine functions and diagnose engine problems in an attempt to meet federal emissions standards set up by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) between 1970 and 1990. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved a set of regulations requiring vehicles to be equipped with On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) systems to control and regulate emission and engine-control related components in the mid-1980s. The OBD system included circuitry and other electromechanical components that recorded engine and emission-related malfunctions using diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs). Stored in memory, the DTCs could later be retrieved by technicians to quickly determine the direct cause of the malfunctions and make necessary repairs.
OBD systems installed on vehicles included, among other things, an engine control module that monitored the engine controls and emission related components, a malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) located on an instrument panel and other supporting circuitry and memory. When a malfunction was detected by the OBD system, the MIL illuminated to provide notice to the vehicle operator of an engine or emissions malfunction. At the same time, the OBD system stored in memory the DTCs corresponding to the specific malfunction detected.
In addition to standard tailpipe testing equipment which measured exhaust output and content, state emission testing facilities were subsequently equipped with OBD equipment that connected to the OBD system of a vehicle and retrieved stored DTCs by way of a data link connector (DLC). By retrieving the DTCs stored by OBD systems, the vehicle's road-worthiness could be determined.
In the late 1980's and early 1990's California developed and approved a new set of regulations, a second generation OBD system (OBD-II) for use in newly manufactured vehicles. OBD-II built upon the first generation OBD system and incorporated various technical advancements including, among other things, the ability to monitor engine misfires and catalysts efficiencies. Although the first and second generation of OBD regulations were originally only required in California, Federal emission regulations quickly followed. Operating under the framework of the Clean Air Act of 1990, the EPA adopted California's OBD-II regulations in the mid-1990s and required certain vehicles manufactured in 1996 and later to be equipped with OBD-II systems. In addition to requiring OBD-II systems, the Clean Air Act requires states to perform vehicle checks of OBD-II systems by way of mandatory programs which read generated DTCs and indicate whether the vehicle is safe and robust in terms of today's emission control standards. As of 1998, the EPA adopted new Federal OBD-II standards based on California's OBD-II regulations for certain newly manufactured vehicles.
As emission and engine maintenance technology has improved from the 1970s to the present, Federal and State governments have adopted new technologies to measure vehicle emissions and keep our vehicles cleaner and safer. As a result of first and second generation OBD systems, tailpipe analyzer tests and legacy equipment are no longer required for vehicles manufactured in 1996 and later. While emissions testing has become standard across the United States, state-run facilities generally include complicated testing protocols and methodologies and expensive and mandated ancillary equipment to read and interpret DTCs. While individual vehicle owners may utilize state-run facilities to receive feedback based upon their vehicle's emissions and engine performance, the inspection and maintenance programs are generally not required for each vehicle until a vehicle reaches a prescribed age. Because state facilities are generally not available to the casual user or are inconveniently located, private manufacturers have marketed custom software and hardwired OBD testing equipment. A need exists for OBD testing equipment which features state-of-the-art cost efficient equipment allowing user-friendly testing processes and to be highly mobile, such as a handheld unit. An example would be a tow truck with a broken down vehicle where the tow truck operator could scan the vehicle to identify the vehicle, connect to the internet and retrieve diagnostic information, scan the vehicle owner's credit card and obtain approval via the internet and print a receipt for the driver and a printout of the automobile diagnosis and printout of the repair necessary.